Page:Thus Spake Zarathustra - Alexander Tille - 1896.djvu/47

 ZARATHUSTRA S INTRODUCTORY SPEECH 13

One hath one's little lust for the day and one's little lust for the night : but one honoureth health.

' We have invented happiness ' the last men say blinking."

And here ended Zarathustra's first speech which is also called " the introductory speech " : for in that moment the shouting and merriment of the folk inter- rupted him. "Give us that last man, O Zarathustra" thus they bawled "make us that last man! We gladly renounce beyond-man ! " And all the folk cheered smacking with the tongue. But Zarathustra sadly said unto his heart :

" They understand me not : I am not the mouth for these ears.

I suppose I lived too long in the mountains listen- ing too much to brooks and trees : now for them my speech is like that of goat-herds.

Unmoved is my soul and bright like the mountains in the morning. But they deem me cold and a mocker with terrible jokes.

And now they look at me and laugh : and while they laugh they hate me. There is ice in their laughter."

��Then a thing happened which silenced every mouth and fixed every eye. For in the meantime the rope- dancer had begun his performance : he had stepped out of the little door and walked along the rope that

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